The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is developing a new ratings program that looks at the safeguards that vehicles with partial automation have to help drivers stay focused on the road.
The safeguards will be rated good, acceptable, marginal, or poor. To earn a good rating, systems will need to ensure that the driver’s eyes are directed at the road and their hands are either on the wheel or ready to grab it at all times. Escalating alerts and appropriate emergency procedures when the driver does not meet those conditions will also be required.
“Partial automation systems may make long drives seem like less of a burden, but there is no evidence that they make driving safer,” said IIHS President David Harkey. “In fact, the opposite may be the case if systems lack adequate safeguards.”
IIHS expects to issue the first set of ratings this year.
